Politics
Ukraine open to Türkiye talks with Putin, top diplomat says
Ukraine’s foreign minister affirmed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready for a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye.
In an interview with Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform on the sidelines of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum on Sunday, Andrii Sybiha said that Türkiye has the ability to make “truly unprecedented, unique achievements in diplomacy.”
“We have appealed to Türkiye to consider the possibility of organizing a meeting at the level of President Zelenskyy and Putin, with the possible participation of presidents (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan and (U.S. President Donald) Trump,” Sybiha said. He said that the Ukrainian side, including Zelenskyy, is ready for such a meeting, adding that Kyiv has “effective proposals” and that they hope for Türkiye’s role, which he said “can play and accelerate the peace process” surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war.
Türkiye previously hosted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, first in the initial weeks of the ongoing four-year war and later in mid-2025. Three rounds of renewed peace talks were held last year in Istanbul, on May 16, June 2, and July 23, which produced major prisoner swaps and draft memorandums outlining positions of both sides for a potential peace deal. Under US mediation, Moscow and Kyiv also held three rounds of peace talks earlier this year on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5, and Feb. 17-18. The first two were in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva. Since then, negotiations have been paused with both Moscow and Kyiv attributing the halt in Russia-Ukraine peace talks to the U.S.’ focus on Iran.
On April 4, President Erdoğan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul to discuss bilateral ties, efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and broader regional and global developments.
During the talks, Erdoğan reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to supporting negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, stressing the region’s urgent need for peace and stability. He also underscored Ankara’s strong emphasis on ensuring safe navigation in the Black Sea and maintaining energy supply security. Erdoğan said Türkiye remains determined to increase trade volume with Ukraine and will continue taking steps to strengthen economic cooperation, and he also welcomed Ukraine’s efforts to deepen relations with Gulf countries, according to a statement by the Presidency’s Communications Directorate.
‘Strategic partner’
Sybiha also spoke about relations between Ankara and Kyiv, saying that Türkiye has a special place in Ukraine’s diplomatic relations, particularly as a “strategic partner.”
“Türkiye is a NATO country. Türkiye has one of the strongest armies in the world. And now Ukraine also has one of the strongest armies, not only in Europe. All this creates the ground for really close cooperation,” Sybiha said. “I am a supporter of creating alliances with Türkiye, given its role in the region and the role of our country, which is growing. All this allows us to launch new formats of interaction, as happened with Syria,” he added. The Ukrainian foreign minister further said the trade turnover between his country and Türkiye is growing, noting that they have an almost 40% growth in 2025 compared to the previous year. “I am convinced that we still have untapped potential that we must further develop,” he said.
Sybiha also assessed his contacts at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, saying he had a lot of requests for a meeting during the three-day event. “For me, as a minister of a country at war, this is a chance to develop and establish new partnerships. I don’t remember when I had so many requests to meet during multilateral platforms,” Sybiha stated.
The European Commission said Tuesday it does not oversee Türkiye’s influence in neighboring regions, clarifying remarks by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Europe should not be shaped by Russia, Türkiye or China.
Speaking at a midday briefing, spokesperson Paula Pinho responded to Anadolu Agency (AA) question regarding how von der Leyen’s comments should be interpreted.
“What was said here is, of course, that Türkiye, precisely as a candidate country, also has an additional responsibility in the neighborhood, and we do not oversee the influence that it has in the neighborhood,” she said.
“And in this case, the reference was to the Western Balkans in line with the EU values. That was the context in which the president referred to Türkiye,” Pinho added, underlining that the expectation is for Türkiye to act consistently with EU values in its regional engagement.
Speaking at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the newspaper Die Zeit in Hamburg on Monday, von der Leyen emphasized her support for EU enlargement and said: “We must succeed in completing the European continent so that it is not influenced by Russia, Türkiye, or China.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will be in Türkiye on Tuesday for a two-day visit. He is scheduled to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler in Ankara.
Rutte’s visit will likely focus on planning for this summer’s NATO summit which will be held in the Turkish capital.
A key partner of NATO, Türkiye will host the leaders’ summit of the alliance for the second time in more than two decades. Heads of state and top figures from member countries will attend the summit scheduled to be held on July 7-8. Some 6,000 participants are expected to participate in the event.
Preparations are underway in the Turkish capital for the event, where alliance leaders will likely discuss its future as conflicts proliferate across the world, forcing them to bolster defense expenditures. A series of panels are being held in NATO member countries as preparation for the summit, with the first one held in Spain. In Ankara, authorities renovate Etimesgut military airport, which will be the main transport hub for guests. The airport’s runways are being expanded, the Sabah newspaper reported on Sunday, while a guest house will be constructed to accommodate delegations.
The presidential complex and a congress hall in the capital will be the main venues of the summit. A press center is being set up at the complex where heads of state will hold news conferences. The Presidency of Defense Industries will also host a defense forum on the margins of the summit, at the ATO Congressium hall.
Türkiye this year marks the 74th anniversary of its admission to NATO and boasts the second biggest army of the alliance. It is the only country in NATO’s “southern flank” with a sizeable military power and a gateway to the Middle East and wider Asia. Security of the Black Sea also largely depends on Türkiye, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which threatens maritime security.
In the last summit in The Hague last year, NATO members agreed to spend
Some 5% of their GDP in defense expenditures by 2035. Ankara will be the stage where the first progress reports on this massive investment drive are measured. A recent NATO report showed military spending rose by a fifth year-over-year in 2025 to $574 billion.
Türkiye virtually stopped work on legal regulations in the terror-free Türkiye initiative as the terrorist group PKK shifted its stance for full disarmament. The initiative aims at the dissolution of the group, which consented to lay down arms last year after its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan ordered them to do so.
The PKK initially slowed down the disarmament process over developments in Syria. The terrorist group’s Syria wing, the YPG, has countered advances by the Syrian army earlier this year after a deal with Damascus apparently collapsed. Eventually, the YPG relented to return to the negotiation table and agreed to integration into the post-Assad Syrian army. The initial “resistance” by the YPG encouraged dissidents within the terrorist group who opposed dissolution. When the YPG finally agreed to integration, the PKK resumed the disarmament process. Yet, it hit a snag again after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Rumors of the U.S. intention to employ “Kurdish groups” in the region to overthrow the Iranian administration slowed down the process again. Security sources say some in the terrorist group readjusted their priorities and had “expectations” with anticipated cooperation with the United States. Nevertheless, the United States acknowledged that this plan was abandoned.
The slowing pace of the initiative forced Öcalan to issue another order to speed up the disarmament.
Türkiye was planning to start concrete work this month for legal regulations to facilitate the process. It would be based on a report of recommendations by parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee. However, the terrorist group’s reluctance led to a pause in discussions for legal steps.
Pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), which served as a messenger between Öcalan and the PKK and the general public for the initiative, often complains about the pace of the initiative, though they don’t blame the terrorist group. Party’s deputy parliamentary group chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit said at a news conference on Monday that they couldn’t accept delays in the implementation of legislation “for various reasons.” Koçyiğit claimed that the government was responsible for the implementation of the initiative. On the other hand, sources from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) say Türkiye cannot speed up legislative steps at a time of uncertainty, echoing the government’s warning that new laws would not be introduced in the initiative unless the PKK is fully disarmed and the full disarmament verified by Turkish intelligence. Sources said that Türkiye was committed to the introduction of legislative steps only after “confirmation mechanism worked,” referring to intelligence’s monitoring of the disarmament in Iraq, where the bulk of the PKK’s senior cadres hide out.
This year’s U.N. climate summit will seek to turn past decisions into action, with financing the main focus, Environment and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum told Reuters on Monday as the country prepares to host COP31 and jointly manage the event with Australia in November.
The minister Kurum said financing was the most important task, with nearly $1 trillion needed to help developing countries meet climate change targets, adding that raising public awareness about climate policies was essential at a time when wars and security crises dominate the global agenda.
“Important decisions have been taken in every COP so far. We will follow up these decisions, but what is essential is putting them into practice. The expectation of the world, of humanity from us is to move to practice,” Kurum said in an interview at Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) 2026, at the weekend.
“Let’s take steps to realise the NDCs that countries have put forth – and there are some countries who have not put them forward,” Kurum said, referring to the nationally determined contribution (NDC) of each nation.
He noted that while wars were inevitable, Türkiye would call on every nation to focus on the “big picture” and see the imminent threats posed by climate change.
The annual COP conference is the main global forum for driving action on climate change. The long-established consensus among the world’s scientists is that climate change is real, mostly caused by humans, and getting worse. Its main cause is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, which trap heat in the atmosphere. After a lengthy standoff last year, Türkiye and Australia agreed on a format in which Türkiye would host the COP31 summit and hold its presidency, while Australia leads the negotiation process. The COP conference will take place in November in the southern Turkish province of Antalya.
Phasing out fossil fuels
The minister who will also be COP31 President said Türkiye wanted the conference to be “the COP of implementation”, where actions rather than promises take precedence.
“We want all countries to hand in their NDCs by COP31. We are working for this, we are also working for this within the U.N.,” he said, adding that $150 million in financing was needed for developing countries to prepare their NDCs. One of the most significant perceived shortcomings from last year’s COP30 was the lack of a concrete agreement around language to promote the global phasing-out of fossil fuels.
Asked about how the issue would be addressed at COP31, Kurum said Türkiye aimed to press countries to implement the decisions taken on this issue at COP30, adding that technology to allow such a shift needed to be further developed.
He noted that Türkiye was using both renewable energy and fossil fuels because it needs to meet its needs and be self-sufficient, but added it would move away from this if it finds cheaper energy through new technology.
“We must bring moving away from fossil fuels to the global agenda by providing a transition period. During COP31, we will put into effect those partial decisions taken in COP30.”
COP meetings have been held on a rotating basis across continents since 1995. Some notable hosts include Germany (Berlin) for COP1, Japan (Kyoto) for COP3 Denmark (Copenhagen) for COP15, France (Paris) for COP21, where the Paris Agreement was adopted, the United Kingdom (Glasgow) for COP26, Egypt (Sharm el-Sheikh) for COP27, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) for COP28, Azerbaijan (Baku) for COP29 in 2024 and Brazil (Belem) for COP30 in 2025.
Hosting a COP requires large-scale organizational capacity. The host country must prepare infrastructure capable of serving more than 100,000 participants, including expansive meeting halls and media centers, as well as spaces for side events, and comprehensive security arrangements. An event of this scale also demands strong logistics and transportation planning.
The host nation is responsible for meeting the U.N.’s security standards and implementing zero-waste practices, sustainability criteria, and a carbon-neutral operations plan. Because heads of state and government attend the summit, the country must also conduct high-level diplomatic preparations and coordinate pre-negotiation meetings and technical committee sessions without disruptions.
In this sense, the host country is not only responsible for managing the logistics of a massive event but also for ensuring that global negotiations take place in a constructive environment.
For Türkiye, hosting the summit would position the country as a hub of global climate diplomacy for two weeks. The process is expected to significantly increase international interest in Türkiye in areas such as climate finance, clean energy and green technology.
Türkiye’s climate policies, emissions-reduction targets, and green transition programs would serve as a global example.
Turkish authorities detained 90 suspects in operations carried out across 24 provinces targeting the Daesh terrorist group, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday.
In a statement, the ministry said the raids were conducted in coordination with the Gendarmerie General Command’s counterterrorism department and chief public prosecutors’ offices, with provincial gendarmerie units taking part.
According to the statement, those detained included suspected members of the Daesh terrorist group, people alleged to have links to the group, individuals accused of providing financing through the group and suspects accused of spreading propaganda on social media.
The ministry said the operations were part of Türkiye’s ongoing efforts to combat Daesh and disrupt its recruitment, propaganda and financing networks.
Türkiye considers the Daesh terrorist group one of the biggest threats to the country’s security and peace and was one of the first countries to declare it a terrorist group in 2013. It has suffered from several Daesh attacks since then, including a suicide bombing in an Ankara train station that killed 100 people in 2015 and a deadly Istanbul nightclub shooting on New Year’s in 2017.
Officials said counterterrorism operations targeting Daesh networks and financing structures will continue across the country.
The fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum concluded Sunday, capping a three-day summit held under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” which brought together 6,400 participants from 155 countries at the NEST Congress Center, in Antalya, in southern Türkiye.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan delivered the closing remarks, highlighting the forum’s scale, substantive agenda and growing role as a global platform for diplomacy.
Fidan stated that the forum delivered a comprehensive program across multiple formats and thematic tracks, from leadership panels to regional sessions, noting that across 52 sessions participants collectively assessed ongoing global crises.
He added that leaders, decision-makers and experts from Asia-Pacific to Latin America, and from Europe to Central Asia, engaged in dialogue under one roof.
Fidan highlighted the scale of participation, stating that this year the forum hosted representatives from 155 countries.
It marked a significant scale both in geographic reach and participation, according to Fidan, as he stated that the forum reflected a broad international footprint and brought together 23 heads of state and government, 13 deputy heads and speakers of parliament, 50 ministers, and 87 senior representatives from international organizations, highlighting the breadth and seniority of participation across delegations.
He noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held numerous high-level bilateral meetings during the forum, while the vice president and ministers engaged in discussions with counterparts. He added that parliamentary delegations and international organizations were also part of extensive engagements, alongside “critical meetings that will help shape the international agenda.”
Regional security issues featured prominently, including a quadrilateral meeting involving Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan that addressed stability and the Palestinian issue.
“We discussed steps to support peace and stability in our region, as well as the evolving dynamics surrounding the Palestinian issue,” Fidan said. “We reaffirmed our commitment to advancing a shared regional vision and evaluated concrete steps moving forward.”
In a separate meeting involving six Muslim countries, officials discussed developments in Gaza and outlined a unified approach to peace efforts.
“We addressed developments related to Gaza and confirmed a unified approach toward the peace process,” he said. “We discussed actionable pathways to achieve lasting peace in the region.”
One of the most prominent sessions, he said, was the high-level event titled “One Heart for Palestine: Standing Against Destruction, Building the Future,” held under the auspices of first lady Emine Erdoğan.
Under the theme of navigating uncertainties, Fidan said the forum enabled a “comprehensive exchange on the future political, economic and diplomatic architecture.”
He emphasized that participants reaffirmed the importance of diplomacy as a central instrument in addressing global and regional challenges.
He added that discussions on regional crises highlighted “the importance of resolving conflicts through regional ownership and the active engagement of local actors,” while economic sessions stressed free trade, investment flows and connectivity “at a time when protectionism is on the rise.”
Fidan said Africa was a special focus this year, with discussions on investment, development potential and the link between security and development, emphasizing regional ownership in addressing challenges.
He also pointed to expanded discussions on emerging domains including artificial intelligence geopolitics, competition over critical minerals, and global energy dynamics. In relation to COP31, he stressed climate security and warned against climate action becoming a casualty of geopolitical tensions.
Cultural and thematic events under the theme “Designing the Future” included youth engagement, which he said recognized their role in shaping the future.
“At a time when uncertainty and multiple crises dominate the international system, and polarization is deepening, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum has once again emerged as a rare platform for dialogue, hope and solutions,” Fidan said, adding that it also reflects Türkiye’s “institutional capacity and diplomatic experience.”
He said Türkiye would continue a foreign policy approach that “transcends rigid frameworks and upholds diplomacy as the key to peace,” adding that Ankara remains committed to expanding cooperation, strengthening bridges of friendship, and acting as a mediator where necessary.
“Türkiye’s growing influence in diplomacy will continue to strengthen in the period ahead,” he said.
This year’s edition convened global leaders, ministers and senior policymakers to address major geopolitical fault lines, including the Iran-Israel-U.S. dynamics, the situation in Gaza, and broader regional and global security crises.
Alongside structured panels and thematic discussions, the forum functioned as a practical diplomatic arena where heads of state, government officials and ministers from across the world engaged in direct, in-person dialogue.
Beyond its formal sessions, the forum facilitated extensive bilateral and multilateral meetings, enabling participating delegations to advance cooperation frameworks, explore new policy alignments, and in some cases move toward joint initiatives and intergovernmental understandings across a range of sectors.
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